BGS 2012 News Archive

EMIC Energy Brief

In a recent edition of the Energy Insight series, Elayne Crain recommends an article by David Spence. Crain writes: "[w]hile some Lonestar State policymakers are quick to point the finger at the EPA's new power plant emission rules as the reason behind the shortages, Professor David Spence finds that Texas's electricity supply woes have much more to do with the state's own need to incentivize gas-fired power plants than any sinister EPA regulatory specter. Read more about Texas electricity supply constraints, as well as the history behind the new EPA rules, in "Before You Blame EPA for Texas Electricity Supply Problems, Consider This…," the newest EMIC Energy Brief.

Jack Abramoff Talk

Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff spoke on May 2, 2012 at the AT&T Conference Center about his recent efforts to reform politics and the lobbying system. Abramoff served four years in prison after being sentenced for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Business, Government & Society Interim Chair Robert Prentice and Communications and Dr. Minette Drumwright of the College of Communication moderated the event. The event was sponsored by the Bates Family Foundation, the Deloitte Foundation, the Distinguished Speaker Series Committee, Austin Young Chamber of Commerce, and the McCombs School of Business

Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Talk

In an April 23 Bates Family Fund Lecture, Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability of the United States Treasury Timothy Massad spoke to a McCombs audience about his administration of the TARP program. TARP involved using massive federal funding during the economic downturn to prop up more than 700 banks, the U.S. auto industry, insurance giant AIG, and other entities. Massad's message was that TARP was a bipartisan measure that succeeded in what it was supposed to do and came in under budget. He predicted that when TARP is finally wrapped up, the federal government will lose very little of its "investment," and might even turn a small profit.

Alcalde Article on Abramoff

The Alcalde recently published an article on their website about Jack Abramoff's visit to the McCombs School of Business. The article discusses Abramoff's visit, why he spoke at UT, and why schools bring disgraced speakers to teach our current students lessons on ethics and leadership. “Jack Abramoff has made some mistakes that I hope our students will never make. If they can learn from him how he made those [mistakes], they can keep their ethical antennae up and hopefully avoid some of the errors that he made,” says Robert Prentice, chair of the Department of Business, Government and Society and a moderator for the event. Read more...

Austin Electricity Conference

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and EPA Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz were among the participants in the Second Annual Austin Electricity Conference, held at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center on April 4th and 5th. The conference is an invitation-only affair, bringing together scholars, industry representatives and policymakers each spring to address cutting edge issues in the energy industry. Professor David Spence of the Business, Government & Society department participated as a panelist for the conference.

BGS Adds New Faculty Members

The BGS Department is pleased to announce the hiring of two assistant professors who will join McCombs next year.

Tim Werner, who has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will leave his post at Grinnell College to join McCombs. His research and teaching interests include the policy making process, business and government relations, and campaign finance reform. Cambridge University Press will soon publish Professor Werner’s book, “Public Forces and Private Politics in American Big Business.”

Brian Richter, who has a Ph.D. from UCLA, will come to McCombs from one of Canada’s leading business schools, ­the Ivey School at the University of Western Ontario. Professor Richter's research focuses on firms' interactions with governments and other non-market actors, on the institutional settings in which firms operate, and on firm-level international financial and economic linkages. His interdisciplinary interests span fields including political economy, strategy (particularly non-market & international), finance (particularly corporate & international), political science, law, international/development economics, applied microeconomics, and industrial organization.

BGS Role in Regulation

A key goal of the BGS Department is to contribute to public debates about the proper role of government regulation in business activity. When SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar issued a statement on facilitating small business capital formation in November, he cited research by BGS professors Frank Cross and Robert Prentice. Prentice has also recently been quoted in The New York Times (regarding the impact of government regulation on business activity), the CNN Wire (regarding government regulation and rogue traders), and the Voice of America (about government protection for whistle blowers in the financial industry).

Keystone Pipeline Killed: How and Why

"One of my teaching duties at The University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business is to help oil company executives learn how to develop positive, productive relationships with “external stakeholders” -- governments, NGOs, neighbors, etc. A key lesson in that work is that the company's relationship with elected government officials is particularly fraught with risk. Business people can never fully trust an elected politician, no matter how close an ally he or she seems to be, because when the politician’s electoral interests diverge from shared policy goals, the former almost always trump the latter." Read more...

BGS Helps MBA Rankings

BGS 's new MBA concentrations in "Public and Governmental Affairs" and "Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility" helped McCombs for the first time in several years land in the top third of 100 ranked schools in Beyond Grey Pinstripes' global full-time MBA rankings. McCombs ranked #28 overall (and #22 among public schools) in preparing students for social, ethical and environmental stewardship.

Texas MBA Recognizes Faculty

Each fall and spring, the full-time Texas MBA students recognize stellar faculty with their MBA Applause Awards. Based on classroom activity last spring, some McCombs faculty were recognized including BGS faculty members Robert Prentice, David Spence, and Christopher Meakin.

Spence on KUT

Associate Professor David Spence spoke to Austin's KUT News at the McCombs Energy Management and Innovation Center about the economic impact of the oil and gas industry and its impact on Perry's campaign. "As the price of oil goes up, that increases employment in the industry, and as you know, a lot of oil and gas employment for the world is centered in Texas," Spence told KUT News. The full-length interview is available on KUT's website.